• Variety, Thursday, April 2, 2009 9:15 AM

With more than 15,700 episodes on radio and TV combined, the soap opera "Guiding Light" will shine no more on CBS. The long-running serial will be broadcast for the last time on Friday, Sept. 18. "Guiding Light" consistently ranks at the bottom of the daytime ratings, and its cancellation is the latest hit to the once-vibrant daytime soap genre.

In a last ditch effort, the show's look and feel were radically altered last year, with producers taking the show outdoors and using hand-held cameras, simultaneous digital editing and on-location shoots. But the alterations only upset "Guiding Light's" loyal but shrinking fan base. This season the show has drawn the smallest numbers on broadcast in daytime, averaging 2.2 million viewers.

"Guiding Light" may not be completely dead, however. Producer TeleNext Media, the successor to Procter & Gamble Prods., is mulling other options for the show, including a cable or Internet play.

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